Oklahoma State Cowboys vs. UTSA Roadrunners: Winners and Losers from Week 4 Game

The Oklahoma State Cowboys welcomed the UTSA Roadrunners to town this past Saturday and turned what looked like an intriguing matchup into a bona fide rout.

UTSA had the Stillwater faithful on upset alert. Luckily for Oklahoma State fans, the Pokes were having none of it.

Oklahoma State came out strong and never really looked back. It didn't look completely dominant, but it played well enough to erase any doubt about its ability take care of the teams it's expected to beat.

The Cowboys were the big winners in this one, but who are the individual winners and losers from this game? Read on to find out. 

Winner: Ben Grogan

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Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.

That sentiment rang true for Ben Grogan on Saturday, as his first field-goal attempt bounced off the left post and went in for three points. That 47-yarder represented one of the few times in his young career Grogan has been able to take advantage of his powerful leg.

From then on, the young place-kicker was perfect on the night, making for his best game of the season.

In his first two games of the season, Grogan had already missed three field goals, and many were questioning his ability to kick at the collegiate level. 

Power was never the problem, but Grogan has struggled with accuracy ever since he stepped on campus. Maybe his lucky break this week will boost his confidence enough to let him become the reliable kicker Oklahoma State needs.

Loser: Tucker Carter

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Tucker Carter played a poor game against Oklahoma State, and that might've been bad enough to get him on this list.

However, the senior quarterback suffered an injury and was replaced in the second half by Blake Bogenschutz, his freshman backup. 

Bogenschutz didn't set the world on fire, but he did engineer the closest thing UTSA had to a comeback, getting the Roadrunners as close as 27-13 before the Pokes ran away with it late.

Carter might not have lost his spot in the lineup; that said, he certainly didn't leave Roadrunner fans feeling confident in their quarterback situation.

Winner: Desmond Roland

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The Oklahoma State Cowboys started the game with Rennie Childs leading the backfield. However, Desmond Roland came in during the second drive to pound in a short touchdown and took over from there.

Roland quickly shook off any dust he had from missing last week's contest and rumbled to 95 yards and two scores. 

The Pokes need Roland out there. He's the biggest back they have and excels at running between the tackles. Both Childs and Tyreek Hill play better as change-of-pace backs, but it's Roland who gives them that opportunity after he's worn down the defense with his tough running up the middle.

This week was the perfect time to get Roland back out there and prepared for the next game. Texas Tech is coming to town, and Arkansas clearly demonstrated that the Red Raiders can't stop a quality rushing attack.

If Roland's healthy, the Pokes have a chance to start Big 12 play in fashion.

Loser: Tyreek Hill

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This slide should actually probably be me instead of Tyreek Hill.

I somewhat boldly predicted Hill would score twice on his way to 150 yards against UTSA.

His actual numbers? Fifty-three total yards, no touchdowns.

Hill appeared to tweak something relatively early on and never really got started. The Freek's longest gain came on a 13-yard run, and his production has now decreased two weeks in a row after his 278-yard coming-out party against Florida State.

Here's hoping Hill can get back on track against Texas Tech.

Winner: Daxx Garman

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Daxx Garman was far from perfect, and he'd be well-served to learn how to take what the defense gives him from time to time. However, Garman's arm was amazing to watch. He throws 50-yard bombs like it's a screen pass, and his ability to stretch the field has Oklahoma State fans excited.

Garman was only 16-for-30, but he did throw for 315 yards and two scores. And those numbers could've been better had a few receivers held on to the ball on a few first-half throws.

It seemed like the only thing Garman was interested in this Saturday was showing off his arm strength, skipping over countless short, easy throws in favor of chucking it deep to a usually covered wideout. That said, you'd be hard-pressed to come up with many plays where he made a bad throw.

Garman just needs to learn to checkdown at times instead of throwing into coverage. He might be able to fit the ball into virtually every window, but Big 12 athletes are going to make him pay for the few times he misses.

If Garman settles down and adds the short-to-intermediate game to his exquisite deep ball, this Cowboys team has the chance to make some noise.

Loser: UTSA as the New Boise State

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UTSA has only been a program for four seasons. That said, it's been on the rise the last few years, as head coach Larry Coker has shaped this team into a quality squad.

The Roadrunners looked excellent against the Houston Cougars in the opening week and almost stole one against the Arizona Wildcats. After that, many thought UTSA had a shot to beat Oklahoma State and prove this small program could compete with Big Boys.

In fact, a few publications compared UTSA to Boise State. And the comparison looked relatively valid before the game started.

Then the game happened. 

That's not to say UTSA looked terrible or got exposed. It just didn't look ready to compete with teams like Oklahoma State, let alone challenge for a big-time bowl game like Boise State did a few years ago.

Winners: Oklahoma State's Defense

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Nine tackles for loss, three sacks, 3.2 yards per play and a 50-yard interception returned for a touchdown to seal the game.

No one played better than the Oklahoma State defense on Saturday.

The line dominated the Roadrunners from the first whistle. The secondary was all over the UTSA receivers. Ryan Simmons made plays from sideline-to-sideline. Kevin Peterson played lockdown defense on one side, while Ashton Lampkin killed any hopes of a UTSA comeback with a late interception on the other.

If you have to give it to one player, it's probably transfer Thomas Furman, who registered six tackles and two sacks for the Pokes. However, it's hard to pick one player out when the unit as a whole played as well as Oklahoma State did against UTSA.

If Oklahoma State's defense plays this well once Big 12 play starts, the Cowboys are going to be very, very tough to beat.